By Mike Willis
If you have ever taken kids fishing, you have dealt with a tangled line. It has always amazed me how kids can tie the most complex knots with the most subtle movements. I really don’t believe that I could duplicate the same tangled mess if I tried! A friend of mine recently helped me with this problem by giving me his son’s rod from when he was just a little angler.
The rod that he gave me was a tangle-free fishing rod. As soon as I set eyes on it, I immediately saw its value. The ingenious design solves a lot of the problems associated with fishing with young kids. As we all learn at some point, there is beauty in simplicity. This design is simple, straightforward, and brilliant.
The Problem with Traditional Rods
The traditional fishing rod design is proven and effective. However, it doesn’t come without flaws. The issue with a traditional rod design is that it causes kids to struggle in the first years of fishing. The series of eyelets on the rod creates endless opportunities to tangle and snag terminal tackle. Hooks, snaps, swivels, and bobbers wreak havoc on young anglers and their ability to fish.
If you are not right there with your kids, you can bank on them getting their line wound up into a bird’s nest. A kid with tangled line is a kid who doesn’t have his or her hook in the water. If the hook is not in the water, you are not catching fish!
The constant untangling of lines is a reel tragedy (pun intended). Perhaps the worst part of the constant tangles is they cause parents and kids to lose interest in fishing. After all, what kid wants to deal with dad continuously losing his cool while trying to pretend that everything is okay. Rather than driving your child into a life of gaming, consider investing in some different gear!
The Advantage of Tangle-Free Rods
The tangle-free fishing rod doesn’t have any eyelets. Instead, the fishing line goes directly from the reel THROUGH the hollow rod/ tube. The line exits out the end of the tube and eliminates most of the conditions which lead to tangling. This design makes it so that kids can walk with their rods without worry or care.
Casting typically causes a lot of tangles. However, this design won’t allow the line to wrap around itself when your kiddo forgets to push the reel button. Hooks and line spin without ever coming in contact with a tangle point.
The Bad
You will notice that your kids can’t cast as far with this kind of design. Since the fishing line passes through a tube, there is more friction/ resistance. It may take your child a bit to get used to the amount of effort it takes to cast.
The process of feeding the line through the tube is a bit tedious. There is a chamber on the rod which holds little lead weights. These weights get tied on the end of your line. Once you tie on the little weight, you can fish the line down through the tube.
The rod’s action is a bit stiff. With that being said, I don’t think that any kid would ever notice any disadvantage caused by the action. Once your child gets skilled enough for action to matter, it’s probably time to upgrade.
While these drawbacks are worth noting, I don’t feel that they outweigh the design’s tremendous benefits. You will gain much more than you lose by putting one of these rods in your kid’s hands.
Where to Find a Tangle-Free Rod
These rods can be found under various names. However, the most common name is the Kid Caster. When searching online, I found them at sites such as Amazon, Cabela’s, and Target. The best pricing that I saw was from Cabela’s. Their camo version of the rod sells for $19.99. However, there are many other colors available.https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/lil-anglers-kid-casters-spincast-combo
Whether you are getting this rod for your kids, grandkids, or as a gift, I am confident that you will be pleased with your purchase. Fish on!
